Mark 6:30-44

Living Bible

³⁰ The apostles now returned to Jesus from their tour and told him all they had done and what they had said to the people they visited.

³¹ Then Jesus suggested, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.” For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat. ³² So they left by boat for a quieter spot. ³³ But many people saw them leaving and ran on ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. ³⁴ So the usual vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat; and he had pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he taught them many things they needed to know.

^35-36 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “Tell the people to go away to the nearby villages and farms and buy themselves some food, for there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.”

³⁷ But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“With what?” they asked. “It would take a fortune^[a] to buy food for all this crowd!”

³⁸ “How much food do we have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”

They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish. ^39-40 Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down, and soon colorful groups of fifty or a hundred each were sitting on the green grass.

⁴¹ He took the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, gave thanks for the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple to place before the people. ⁴² And the crowd ate until they could hold no more!

^43-44 There were about 5,000 men there for that meal, and afterwards twelve basketfuls of scraps were picked up off the grass!